Author Longquan Ming
Author brief introduction Longquan Ming Wuhan University Chinese Department
This paper holds that the aesthetic pursuit of Ai Qing's poetry creation is truth, goodness and beauty. This paper specifically discusses the essence and poetic value of Ai Qing's poetry, such as "true realm", "good mind" and "beautiful poetic art", and the promotion of Ai Qing's poetic art exploration to the higher and deeper development of China's new poetry.
Ai Qing lived in the 1940s, which was an era of social, moral and aesthetic disharmony. Some people either attach importance to the instrumental role of literature and regard literature as a service to society above all else, ignoring the aesthetic characteristics of literature. Either put the purification of literature and art in the first place, but lack the enthusiasm and patience to pay attention to and discuss practical problems. At that time, the whole poetry circle was weak and impetuous in the face of the suffering and struggle of the times. Ai Qing is deeply dissatisfied with the present situation of such poetry circles. After the Anti-Japanese War, he began to think hard in his creation: "How can we turn our voice into a voice that truly represents the people of China?" (Note: Ai Qing's "For Victory" and "Ai Qing's Complete Works" (Huashan Literature and Art Publishing House, version 1994), Volume 3, pages 120 and 122. As a result of thinking, he firmly believes that the art of poetry is the product of a great era, which should truly show all the fierce conflicts and characteristics of this era, and should be unified and complementary in content expression and aesthetic creation, rather than artificially separated. Ai Qing said that he "longed for completeness, perfection, kindness and truth, so he devoted his life to the flame of creation." (Note: On Poetry by Ai Qing, Guilin Sanhu Publishing House, first edition in September, 194 1. All the quotations in this article are quoted from the book, without indicating the source. This shows that Ai Qing wrote poetry in order to seek the "integrity" of poetry, that is, to create true, perfect and beautiful poetry. He gave a lecture on poetry in Guilin and wrote On Poetry in order to correct the deviation in poetry creation, so as to invigorate the poetry world and make poetry move towards harmony and perfection while shouldering the mission of the times. At the beginning of his book On Poetry, he clearly pointed out: "Truth, goodness and beauty are three unified expressions of human will, and poetry is bound to be the best connection between them." "Our poet is driving a tricycle of pure gold and galloping in the wilderness of life. Those three wheels are truth, goodness and beauty. " In Ai Qing's view, truth, goodness and beauty belong to different value categories: it is our true understanding of the objective world; Goodness is the utility of society, taking the interests of the people as the criterion; Beauty is attached to the shape of human life. The unity of truth, goodness and beauty is the highest aesthetic pursuit of Ai Qing's poems.
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Ai Qing always believes that the value of literary works lies in whether the works reflect reality. With this aesthetic concept, Ai Qing always "boldly feels the world, clearly understands the world and clearly reflects the world". So when we look at Ai Qing's creation in the 1940s, the whole creation gives people a "true" realm.
The true realm of Ai Qing's poems is mainly reflected in his poems accurately reflecting the development trend of the times and showing his true understanding of social reality. He said: "We are the most miserable generation among the miserable races, and the shame and resentment accumulated over the years will be liquidated in our generation. We are shouldering multiple historical missions. ..... We write poetry as a singer who struggles for liberation and gets rid of the tragic racial shackles. " (Note: Ai Qing's Poetry and Propaganda, The Complete Works of Ai Qing, Vol.3, pp. 77 and 78. Because of this creative motivation, all kinds of thoughts, feelings and spiritual characteristics in Ai Qing's poems must have historical authenticity. Ai Qing's poetry works have always been the product of his "great and unique era". Feeling the pulse of the times, listening to the voice of the times, following the footsteps of the times and singing the songs of the times affectionately and uniquely are the greatest characteristics of Ai Qing's poems. He said at that time: "Every day brings us inspiration, emotion and excitement, which forces poets to produce poems belonging to this era"; Poets belonging to this great and unique era must devote themselves to the times with the greatest width. (Note: Ai Qing's Poems and Times, The Complete Works of Ai Qing, Volume 3, page 68. Poets always embrace, sing and contribute to the times with all their passion, fiery youth and all their lives. The 1940s in China was an era full of tragic conflicts, but the poet Ai Qing firmly believed that he was standing on the threshold of a new historical era. Therefore, in the form of poetry, he vividly reproduces the real life and tragic characteristics of his time and tirelessly explores the fate and future of mankind. His concern for people's suffering, his pursuit of ideals and light and his strong patriotism run through all his works. For the sake of national liberation and people's liberation war, he conveyed "the most sincere love and the greatest creative ambition".
Ai Qing's poems have strong reality, profound inner experience and deep feelings. He wants to use his poems to call for souls who can call and shine on each other. For him, how to live and how to write poetry are completely isomorphic. This is a kind of writing of life perception, which is not the same as the melodramatic and pale writing for money and fame. Ai Qing not only has a broad mind, but also has profound signs of life and the cultivation of perfect poetry, so he can understand the historical background and the true meaning of life, keenly feel the pulse of the times, and express the spirit and style of the times in a higher essence. The Land of Resurrection written by Ai Qing on the eve of the Anti-Japanese War indicates the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War. At the most difficult time in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Ai Qing issued a "dawn notice" to "distant cities and villages immersed in suffering" with a vision based on in-depth generalization of social life and the vision that the people's cause will win, thus declaring the victory of the national liberation war. In particular, "He got up and faced the sun and the torch" was a "profound and touching poem, which highly expressed the reality and showed the courage and strength of fighting", which was quite typical at that time. These poems pointed out a revolutionary road artistically but not conceptually for people who were in a state of numbness at that time and for young intellectuals wandering at the crossroads. Inspired by these poems, many young people embarked on the journey of saving the country and revolution. Ai Qing's relationship with his time was obviously different from that of ordinary people. He was a prophet of feelings in that era. He wrote his own feelings, which are fresh and enlightening to most people.
Ai Qing showed great creative vitality to that great and unique era, which was reflected in his true grasp of the world, his deep concern for mankind and his deep and open thinking about things. He "eulogized the people's inner desire, their dislike of enslaved life, their welcome to a new day, their excitement about the revolutionary war, their desire for freedom and happiness, and their yearning for the ideal realm that flashed to them in the distance." (Note: Ai Qing's "On China's New Poetry since the Anti-Japanese War", The Complete Works of Ai Qing, Volume 3, p. 170. Ai Qing always pays attention to this changing world and always gives people a clear gesture of examining, criticizing, inducing, encouraging and praising human life. His gambling, eulogy, October congratulations, carnival night, etc. Eulogize the enthusiasm of the world anti-fascist war; Poems such as "Skin", "Arson", "Portrait of the Dead" and "Baby's Body Floating on the River" cursed the terrible cruelty and atrocities of the fascist aggressors. Poems such as Europa, Mourning for Paris, The Three Kingdoms Convention, Hitler, Vall, Confession, Zhou Zuoren, Wanted Order and Song of Hatred strongly satirize and lash fascist thugs, parasites, traitors and traitors. Poems such as Dutara, Salute, Mayakovski, Mourning for romain rolland, Pushkin of the Russian People, Sawyer, Lu Xun, Sower and Mao Zedong warmly praise the world's anti-fascist heroes, revolutionary fighters and people's leaders. Poems such as An Dian, City Man, My Occupation and Two in-laws mercilessly expose the ugliness of Kuomintang rule and the hypocrisy, snobbery, greed, adventure, indulgence and vulgar and despicable souls of various nobles and villains. Such as North, Handcart, Beggar, Clothes Mender, Wilderness, Village, Poem for Village, etc. It profoundly shows the miserable living conditions of farmers in China. Poems such as The Trumpet, He Got Up, He Died for the Second Time, and Drilling Snow eulogized the spirit and heroism of the people of China who defended their motherland with blood. Poems such as Salute to the Sun, Torch, and Dawn Notice show the ideal and bright future of mankind, giving people a full, profound and broad feeling. The stormy waves of the times, changeable situations, joys and sorrows are vividly and comprehensively reflected in his poetry. These poems associated with a specific era have a special sense of history and important poetic value. If Guo Moruo's Goddess fully embodies the vigorous anti-imperialist and anti-feudal spirit of the May 4th period, it becomes the strongest voice of the times; Dai Wangshu's poems show the unique ideology and spiritual outlook of China intellectuals in the process of pursuing revolution and progress in the 1920s and 1930s, and become a mirror of the times. Then Ai Qing's poems truly and comprehensively show the harsh struggle between war and peace, revolution and national salvation and the development trend of world history in the 1940s, as well as the social changes in China and the development track of the people's thoughts and feelings in China, and are worthy of being the "most loyal spokesman" of the times.